Costa Rica Capital A Great Little City For Americans

October 13, 1985|By Zeke Wigglesworth, Knight-Ridder Newspapers.

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA — Greetings from San Jose, in sunny Central America.

The salutation may sound surprising, but San Jose is full of good feelings. It has little crime, no overt anti-American sentiments and a lot of vivacity. As an introduction to Costa Rica, and to Central America, it is excellent.

This is a great little city, full of fine hotels, good restaurants, interesting parks and lively entertainment. Word has it that the Costa Ricans love Americans. Well, that may be a bit strong, but about the only protest sign you see painted on walls is ``Death to Communists,`` an interesting change of tune for Latin America.

Life in this bustling capital of narrow streets revolves around the city center, a square called the Cultural Plaza, where on weekends you can find bands playing, teen-agers listening to rock music and lots of folks sitting on benches and watching the world go around.

On the north edge of the plaza is a great hotel, the Gran Hotel de Costa Rica, which has a wonderful outdoor cafe where you can eat or sip excellent Costa Rican coffee or have a drink in the sun.

To the west is the Teatro Nacional, where presidents of Costa Rica hold forth and where musical and cultural programs are held. It is a stately, gilt- edged heap with a red corrugated metal roof, completed in the 1890s. You can tour it for about 40 cents.

Within walking distance are restaurants, stores, the U.S. Embassy and nightclubs. In a smaller plaza in front of the hotel, vendors hawk flutes and earthenware and clothing and macrame hammocks. The Cultural Plaza and environs never seem to be quiet, and the rhythm of life in San Jose very much reflects its heart.

It is from San Jose that all the tours of the country begin--to nearby volcanoes, to the Atlantic or Pacific coasts, to the other cities and national parks north and south. The city sits nearly in the center of the country, in a high valley between the two mountain ranges that run through the spine of Costa Rica. The climate is pleasant year-round, with sunny days and cool nights and afternoon showers in the rainy season.

And it`s inexpensive. You can stay in an excellent hotel such as the Gran Hotel de Costa Rica for $40 a night, and there are many other less attractive but still serviceable hostelries for as little as $7 a night.

If you want to stay in Costa Rica and never realize you`re there, you can try the Cariari Country Club and Hotel near the national airport, which is a big, American-occupied resort that could be in Miami Beach or Honolulu. Prices are commensurate: Singles start at $73.50; suites go up to $300 a night. It`s not where you want to stay if you`re after local color.

Another place to avoid is the Playboy Hotel outside the downtown area, which seems to be a favorite with some U.S. travel agencies and is usually filled with Americans. It`s depressing; the bar is soul-less, the restaurant is only adequate, and the place isn`t even finished.

You can find most any kind of cuisine you want in San Jose, from Chinese to McDonald`s, and many of the better restaurants are within walking distance of the Cultural Plaza.

A few favorites are the fifth-floor restaurant at the Gran Hotel, which has good service, fine surroundings and better-than-average food; the Casino Espanol, a restaurant specializing in beef; and the Amstel Hotel Restaurant, owned by Dutch folks and serving inexpensive and good local dishes.

The city also has a number of fine watering holes, from such places as the open-air, native bars near the Gran Hotel to a joint called the Key Largo, a few paces up from the Amstel. The Key Largo is a timbered, Casablanca-fanned number with round tables and cold beer. It should be avoided after dark, however, when it becomes inhabited by fallen doves looking for a nest.

Although many Costa Ricans speak English, you may nonetheless feel a need to return to the mother tongue once in a while, and every Friday, the English- language newspaper, Tico Times, hits the streets. It carries information on fishing and hunting, places to eat and developments of national importance you might want to keep up with.

The city also has many museums, including the National Museum of Costa Rica, not far from central downtown, where there is a good display of pre-Colombian artifacts and art from Costa Rican history. There are also a Jade Museum, a Gold Museum and, for those who love insects, an Entomology Museum.

Most hotels have television in the rooms, and some even carry cable channels that get American programs. Several bars around town have big-screen units where sporting events are shown. Most hotel concierges can give you directions.

Shopping in San Jose is an interesting glimpse into the country`s economy, badly damaged by a balance-of-trade problem.

Some common products such as suntan lotion can run as much as $10, while you can get made-in-Costa Rica guyaberas (richly embroidered shirts) for about the same amount. Shoes and clothing are fairly inexpensive, while prices on electronic items and appliances are through the ceiling. Visa and MasterCard are accepted in most stores and most cities in the country.

One of the best tour operators is Swiss Travel, with offices in most hotels.

Information about San Jose and Costa Rica is available from the Costa Rican Tourist Board, 200 S.E. First St., Suite 402A, Miami, Fla., 33131.

A good guide to the country, and about the only one on the market, is

``The Costa Rica Traveler,`` by Ellen Searby. The book is available at bookstores or can be ordered for $7.95 plus $1.50 shipping, from Windham Bay Press, Box 1332, Juneau, Alaska, 99802.